Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

African American Studies

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of African American Studies offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in African American Studies.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The M.A. program is supervised by an interdepartmental faculty committee. Upon admission, students work with the staff graduate adviser and faculty adviser, who assist them with the formulation of their program of study for the first year. Students are expected to meet at least quarterly with the staff graduate adviser, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. Students are encouraged to remain in continuous contact with both advisers regarding their program and academic success.

Areas of Study

The M.A. in African American Studies offers a wide-range of courses that provide historical, conceptual, and theoretical foundations for understanding global Black experiences. The department has formal linkages to various disciplines including anthropology, English, gender studies, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. Related courses are also offered in the following schools, departments, and programs: African studies, art, education, ethnomusicology, geography, information studies, Latin American studies, management, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, society and genetics, public health, social welfare, theater, and world arts and cultures. Topics covered in African American Studies will span a wide-ranging set of issues and geographical areas, theoretical frameworks, as well as analytical concepts and categories of identity, such as, race, gender, class, sexuality, culture, and nation.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 12 courses (48 units) are required for the M.A. degree: (1) Three of the 12 courses are required and are offered in the first year of the MA program: 201A. Survey of Black Studies: Themes, Issues and Concepts; and 201B. Survey of Black Studies Research Methods and 201 C. Research Proposal Writing Seminar; 2) Five courses (20 units) may be those related to the student’s research interest, all of which should be taken in the department; 3) Three elective courses (12 units) that could be upper division undergraduate courses and/or graduate courses taken within or outside the department (can include 400-level Education courses when taught by African American Studies faculty); and 4) Four units of African American Studies 596 (Directed Individual Studies or Research), 597 (Preparation for MA Comprehensive Exam) or 598 (Research for the Preparation of MA Thesis).

For this curriculum, 12 courses are required for the degree, of which eight (32 quarter units) must be at the graduate level. Only 12 units of Law courses are allowed to be double-counted toward the M.A. degree by petition to the Graduate Division.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Option A: (Comprehensive Examination) Students may elect to complete the M.A. degree through the capstone plan. During the fourth week of the fall quarter in the second year, students are required to choose which option they wish to pursue. The examination is administered by a committee consisting of faculty members appointed by the department and is offered in the spring quarter of the second year. Academic credit for the examination is given via African American Studies 597. The requirement for the exam option includes completing the written examination that is given during the final quarter of residency. (Refer to the department’s Graduate Handbook for further information).

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

Option B: (Thesis) Students may elect to complete the M.A. degree through the thesis plan. Before beginning work on the thesis, students should consult first with their academic adviser. During the fourth week of the fall quarter in the second year, students are required to choose which option they wish to pursue. In the beginning of the fall quarter of the second year in residence, students are required to officially nominate a master’s committee of three faculty members through the Graduate Division and are expected to submit a prospectus of their thesis. The thesis committee will consist of the student’s faculty adviser and two ladder-ranked faculty, one of which should be from the list of core or jointly-appointed faculty in the department, and the other may be from outside the department. After approval and completion of the thesis, the committee conducts an oral examination on its subject, usually in the spring quarter of the second year. Academic credit for thesis research and preparation is given through African American Studies 598. (Refer to the department’s Graduate Handbook for further information).

Time-to-Degree

Approximately six quarters in residence are required from the time of admission to award of the degree. This presumes full-time student status and normal progression through course work. Students may view more detailed first and second year timelines on the program’s website.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	6	6	8

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.